LANSING – State Representative Kate Ebli (D-Monroe) today voted for a plan to help more Michigan students afford to attend college by establishing tax breaks for individuals or groups who buy pre-paid tuition as donations through the Michigan Education Trust (MET) and enabling agencies or charities to set up scholarships through the Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP).
"As a parent of a college student, I understand how difficult it can be for families to put their children through college," Ebli said. "Every one of our young residents deserves the chance to attend college, but the ever-rising cost of tuition has made that increasingly difficult for many of our working families. This plan will make it easier for many of our generous residents to help more of our talented students earn a college degree, while also preparing our young students for the good-paying, high-demand jobs of today's economy."
MET allows anyone to pre-purchase undergraduate tuition for a child living in Michigan for any Michigan public university or college. MESP is a tax-deferred college savings program. Currently, both the MET and MESP require a beneficiary to be designated. The plan passed by the House today allows individuals, agencies and nonprofit groups who buy an MET contract to receive a tax deduction without requiring a specific beneficiary to be named in advance and allows anyone who sets up an MESP account to defer designating a beneficiary. It now heads to the Senate.
Although groups and municipalities have expressed a desire to buy multiple MET contracts or set up blocs of MESP contracts – for children from a particular school or town, for example – these restrictions have discouraged such generosity.
"This plan will not only help more of our working families and their children by giving them the opportunity to attend college, but it will help our state as a whole," Ebli said. "By creating a highly educated, world-class workforce, we can make Michigan a magnet for businesses in emerging fields and create the jobs we need for our workers."